I don’t know about you, but I start my day with two things; a great cup of coffee at my local café and reading my daily Zodiac horoscope while I sip. When I found out about the Zodiac Café, I was over the moon. My two favorite things blended together, just like the frothy milk and yummy coffee in my Caffè Latte.

The Problems With Working from Home

Research has shown that when people were forced to start working from home, productivity decreased in most people. There are a couple of reasons for this. For some, the distractions of family members interrupting their train of thought greatly decreased concentration and the ability to get work down. For others, working at home was too quiet; the quiet itself was disquieting!

The isolation during the pandemic proved so difficult that a software engineer named Siwalik Mukherjee created an app to simulate the sounds of being in a café for use at home or sitting in a park, etc. It’s called Coffitivity. Based on a University of Chicago peer-reviewed study, the ambient noise in a café (such as the whir of the espresso machine or the clatter of plates) stimulates productivity. The optimum ambient noise level is 70 decibels, whereas 85 decibels are too loud and 50 decibels are too quiet. Research has also shown that 70 decibels provide the most “Aha!” moments. Isn’t that interesting? Check it out at Coffitivity.com if you can’t make it to your local café.

Higher Productivity in Cafés

Thankfully, some of the restrictions have been lifted and we CAN go back to our favorite cafés (such as my new fave, the Zodiac Café). Interestingly, research has shown that people work harder when sitting next to other people working hard. Who’d have guessed that mental effort could be quite so contagious? It’s called the “audience effect;” a well-known effect that having an audience improves performance. So, look for a table next to the person that appears to be working hardest at their laptop and let their vibes help raise your output!

Networking in Cafés

Depending on the type of work you do, cafés offer the perfect chance to network. This is especially true for those that work in sales. While chatting with the person next to you in line, you might discover they have a need for what your company sells or what services they offer—or vice versa. You can’t get that from working at home or just with co-workers.

Humans Crave Connection

Even if you choose to keep to yourself in a café, the sound of other people murmuring is comforting. It reminds you that you’re not alone and that the world is still turning, even in the midst of some of the frightening things happening around us.

My Favorite Café

What I enjoy most about the Zodiac Café is that most everyone in attendance is interested in coffee and astrology. The owners always feature a daily special for one lucky sign of the Zodiac. It’s exciting to see which day you might get a discount or a free scone!

They also have areas for the different signs; you can sit amongst other members of your sign, or perhaps you’d rather sit next to the most well-known hardworking signs, Capricorn and Virgo. That’s where I sit if need to buckle down and crank out work quickly. They will remind you very quickly if you try to start a conversation that, “Some of us came here to get some work done.”

If I sit with my fellow Librans, we often find the need to mention that we love what another Libran is wearing, whether it’s their shoes, earrings, jacket, etc.

I personally never sit next to Geminis (although they’re one of my favorite Zodiac signs that I most align with) because we’re both talkative air signs and a Gemini can lead you on a long journey, debating both sides of anything. Not conducive to getting work done, lol.

Find Your Favorite Café

As mentioned above, working in a café environment provides increased productivity, along with enhanced cognizance and creativity, as well as a sense of community and connection. There are so many themed cafés opening up; find the one in your neighborhood that best epitomizes the factors I just mentioned. You’ll not only enjoy yourself, but you’ll also get more work done!